:: CHAD GEOGRAPHY ::

In similarity with Sudan, Chad has a desertic climate in the northern half, while the Sahel and the green savannah
occupy the southern half. Chad is home of the highest mountains of the Sahara, located in the Tibesti massif. The Tibesti and Ennedi massifs are nearly the only mountainous areas in the country, while the rest is a pure plain that gets lower in the
western part, forming the chadian basin.

The Tibesti massif is the home of several volcanoes, as the Emi Koussi, highest mountain in the Sahara (left image) and the Tarso Tousside (right image). The volcanic calderas often contain salt deposits.

The Tibesti massif occupies an area of about 115000 km2 in north-western Chad and southern Libya. The Tibesti is one of the most remote and dangerous places in the world; only a few thousand people inhabit these mountains whose passes were mined during the conflicts happened there. The toubou people live there in some small oases such as Zouar, Bardai and Aozou.

The Ennedi massif covers a surface of about 35000 km2 in the north-eastern region. Its latitude reaches the Sahel region; while the northern rocks of the Ennedi are surrounded by sand dunes the southern ones emerge from a mere steppe land that in many places is covered with a poor grass. In fact, the southern area of the Ennedi is relatively fertile, with groves of acacias growing along the enneris (dried rivers), as the following satellite images show.

The Ennedi contains many interesting rock formations, included in these many arches, as the huge Aloba arch located in the southern region. The two upper images below show a satellite view and a photo of this arch that reaches 120 meters high.